Coat of arms of South Korea

South Korea passport

Rank #2 · Strength 203 destinations (visa-free + on arrival + eTA) · score 96.8

South Korea passport

Citizens of South Korea can reach 203 of 248 destinations without applying for a consular visa in advance — 160 visa-free, 27 visa on arrival and 16 eTA. Ranked #2 for passport strength worldwide.

Compare passports

160Visa-free
27Visa on arrival
16eTA
30e-⁠Visa
14Visa required

South Korea passport: where it stands

This passport is stronger than 98% of the 198 passports in the Passport Index. Within Asia it ranks 2 of 51; the strongest in the region is Singapore, with 209 destinations. Across 6 major destinations: the Schengen Area and Japan allow visa-free entry; the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and Australia require an eTA. Beyond those 203 destinations, 30 issue an e-⁠Visa online and 14 require a consular visa; e-⁠Visas do not count towards passport strength.

Visa-free (160)

Albania American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Bermuda Bolivia Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Cayman Islands Chile China Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Denmark Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador El Salvador Estonia Eswatini Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guatemala Guernsey Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard Island and McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland Ireland Isle of Man Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Kazakhstan Kiribati Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lesotho Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao Malaysia Malta Martinique Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Netherlands New Caledonia Nicaragua Niue Norfolk Island North Macedonia Norway Oman Palestine Panama Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Réunion Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Senegal Serbia Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Spain Svalbard and Jan Mayen Sweden Switzerland Taiwan Tajikistan Thailand Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Ukraine United Arab Emirates United States Minor Outlying Islands Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wallis and Futuna Western Sahara Zambia Åland Islands

Visa on arrival (27)

Bahrain Bangladesh Burundi Cambodia Cape Verde Comoros Egypt Ethiopia India Indonesia Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Madagascar Malawi Maldives Marshall Islands Myanmar Namibia Nepal Palau Pitcairn Islands Rwanda Saudi Arabia Tanzania Timor-Leste Zimbabwe

eTA — electronic travel authorisation (16)

Australia Canada Guam Israel Kenya Mozambique New Zealand Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Seychelles South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Sri Lanka Suriname United Kingdom United States United States Virgin Islands

e-⁠Visa — applied for online in advance (30)

Benin Bhutan Burkina Faso Cameroon Chad Cuba Côte d’Ivoire DR Congo Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Gabon Ghana Guinea Iran Iraq Liberia Libya Mauritania Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea Sao Tome and Principe Sierra Leone Solomon Islands Somalia South Sudan Sudan Syria Togo Uganda

Visa required (14)

Afghanistan Algeria British Indian Ocean Territory Central African Republic Congo Eritrea Gambia Mali Nauru Niger North Korea Tokelau Turkmenistan Yemen

What the index measures

  • 248 destinations, countries and territories
  • Strength = visa-free + visa on arrival + eTA; e-⁠Visa is not taken into account.
  • Passports with the same score share a rank

Data sources

  • Government portals of each destination.
  • Immigration authorities, foreign ministries, and official e-⁠Visa and eTA portals.
See the data sources

Method

  • How each entry condition is classified
  • The limits of the data and how to check official sources
See the methodology

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